read with hunger, write with joy, live with passion

Create A Character Clinic

Introduction

SECTION I: Ask Them Anything

My objective in writing this book is simple. I want to show you, not just how to develop characters, but how to write your characters in a compelling fashion once you come up with them. There are all sorts of books that will tell you how to put together interesting characteristics, with character backstory, with powerful motivations, and all the other things well-written characters need.

I have yet to find one, however, that takes the characteristics you’ve come up with and shows you how to apply them in such a way that your character lives and breathes on the page.

That’s what I intend to do.

I want to make this process simple and to break it down into steps and techniques you can start following immediately. I’ll show you what I do, and then take you through doing it yourself.

And I want to keep it short—you shouldn’t have to wade through tons of words to find the few kernels of useful knowledge that you can start applying to your own work.

So that you can start using it right away, this book is divided into three sections.

Section One is Ask Them Anything—Explanations and demonstrations of seven critical areas of character development, along with printable charts offering questions that will give you a well-rounded framework for your characters. Answer as few or as many questions as you need to get a feel for the people you’ll be writing about, and ask (and answer) more as you work through your story and need new twists and turns.

Section Two is Bring Them To Life—A tutorial on how to put all the information you’ve developed into creating people who live on the page.

Section Three is The Sins of Characterization (And How to Commit Them Well)—Believe it or not, almost everything you can ever do wrong in putting characters on the page, you can also do right. This section shows you when…

Whether you're a reader or a writer, you want what YOU want, and not everything else.
So start out by selecting only the subjects that interest you (either with a normal email or through a role-playing adventure game). And live YOUR adventure.